Melissa Rich Author – Your Virtual Home Office Can Be a Reality!

With cold temperatures and treacherous roads, cold calling could be a viable career option for you.    In rough weather, working from home becomes more inviting, but there are so many options and choices.    It is imperative that you look at your current skill set and determine which career options best match your skill set.   One skill set and frequent work-at-home position involves cold calling and telemarketing.

Cold calling involves reaching out via phone to your client’s prospects – also known as telemarketing.      There are many cold calling companies that work for a variety of clients that choose to outsource a portion of their sales efforts.   There are also many employers (both large and small) that are seeking virtual employees to perform this valuable sales task.

Chapter 7 of my book specifically describes how to review work at home opportunities to determine if they are a legitimate opportunity or just another scam – which is also prevalent in the work at home industry.   Order your copy today!

Now that 2012 is here..it is time to put your work from home career in overdrive.

How can you go about increasing your business?

First-determine your skill set. What do you have that makes you stand out? Are you a creative writer? Do you have skills to type? Are you dabbling in the website business?

Second-update and add to your current skill set. If you are building websites, take a look at new features and services that can be added to websites and sign up for training to acquire new skills.

Third-Market, Market, Market. You are not the only one looking to boost business or make changes. Let your clients know what you are doing and what plans you have for them in 2012.

If you need help marketing your work from home business-check out our website www.yourvirtualhomeoffice.com

A lot of people I encounter are seeking a home based job/career. It sounds wonderful but the need for legitimate home-based positions are not any easier to find than when I started 12 years ago. The scammers are even better at finding those that are considered to be newbies to the field. My advice to those just starting out in this market-Research every opportunity and if you think that it seems to good to be true, it generally is.

Look at local sites such as:

Flexjobs.com

Indeed.com

Monster.com

Or companies such as:

Live-ops

VIP desk

Convergys

There are many legitimate opportunities out there for those that are seeking long term positions working from their virtual home office. When I first started looking for work from home, I made it my full time job to research companies and opportunities. I researched at night when my family was sleeping and in the afternoons after I completed my daily work.

If you need help determining what opportunity works best for you and how to avoid the scammers-check out our website: www.yourvirtualhomeoffice.com

Working from your virtual home office is a huge responsibility since you are solely responsible for your home business. Here are a few mistakes that you can avoid:

• Business hours-determine your set working hours or business hours before you begin working. This will alleviate problems separating working hours from family time.
• Rates-set your hourly rate or prices when you start working from home. Never agree to work for someone without a contract in place. This takes the awkward out of a business transaction. After all working from your virtual home office is your paycheck and you want to handle business transactions accordingly.
• Advertise-working from your virtual home office requires you to be the sole proprietor and responsible for adverting your work from home business or career. Never make the mistake of thinking that customers or clients are going to just come to you. Advertise-whether it is joining your local chamber of commerce or supporting your local soccer team-get your name and business out there to provide you with long term success working from your virtual home office.

Failing to plan and maintain scheduled tasks for a profitable home business can hinder success. Take the time to set up guidelines for your business to allow a lifestyle that provides balance between business and family. If you need ideas on a successful work from home business-check out Melissa’s book “Your Virtual Home office can be a Reality!”

I hear all the time from people wanting to find a job working from home. My daughter is now seeking a work from home position. It sounds great but how would you get started? I started my work from home journey back in the day when work from home was in its infancy and it was really hard to locate the companies that were real but at least there were not as many scammers.

Most of the companies then wanted you to purchase their book of companies that offered work from home or charged money for special software. The best advice I can say to those seeking a work from home position is: Take a look at your skill set and move forward with your experience. If you are experienced in the Insurance industry, seek businesses that offer virtual positions. Finding a job in today’s economy is not easy especially if you really don’t want to work.

I believe the jobs are out there for those that want to work.

Beware of the scammers! If you think something is to good to be true..it usually is.

Check out this site that lists the companies that are legit:

http://www.jodisjourney.net/2008/09/legitimate-work-home-companies.html

If you need help deciding how to start your work at home adventure-check out Melissa’s book-“ Your Virtual Home Office Can Be a Reality!”

It seems like the work-at-home schemes are becoming more prominent, but they are also getting more sophisticated; consequently you need to stay alert and skeptical.    Use the tools in our book in Chapters 7-9 to research job opportunities and protect yourself.   Exercise due diligence and complete the necessary research to protect yourself.

Not everyone can work from home in a virtual situation successfully. What personality type is successful working from home? Answer:  People that have great time management skills and those that are organized and productive during working hours. Working from home is a great opportunity but not everyone can work without supervision or the flexibility that comes with working from home. If you need help with time management, read Melissa’s book-“ Your Virtual Home Office can be a Reality

If you are an independent contractor or employee working from your home office, it is generally your responsibility to keep up with equipment. Make sure you are updating virus protection as well as computer and software updates. Many things of those maintenance activities cost money but some of them are just a matter of completing the updates.

Some virus protections are free as well as Adobe reader products. I have found certain software will not function properly without all of the components which might mean windows updates or Microsoft office products. Keep a planner or notebook that gives dates of current updates to keep you on top of equipment and software. This will keep you up and running in your virtual home office.

I love my career working virtually from my  home office. It gives me the flexibility to contribute an income to our household, as well as enjoying life along the way. In my position as a Program Consultant, we have hired many people that share the same attitude towards working from home except for one small thing..they really don’t want to work. People that think they want to want to work from home will find many reasons to keep them from doing their job:

The cable man is coming; I need to take off the day.

The kids have a dentist appointment; I can’t work today.

I am just not feeling well.

How about if I get started on that tomorrow?  Or next week?

Working from home is very flexible and that same flexibility is one of the greatest reasons to work from home; but working from home is still work. If I don’t complete my scheduled working hours, I will not have a job or future work.  If you need help with time management, check out Melissa’s book:“Your Virtual Home Office can be a Reality”

I have worked from home for 12 years, but I have recently made a very positive change within my working environment.  I have made the transition from a home office to a portable office.   With my new laptop and a briefcase filled with necessary files, I am ready to work from any location with wifi.

The transition has been quite rewarding and I frequently find myself working while  waiting for appointments or killing time between appointments.